Task Characteristics and the Pattern of Seventh-Grade Students' Situational Engagement During a Science Unit

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 16
  In Roundtable Session: Factors and Strategies Impacting Student Engagement in Science

Abstract

Traditionally, engagement has been measured as a static trait. This study measured engagement as a fluid trait in order to explore the relationship between seventh grade students’ situational engagement over a science unit and five specific task characteristics. Informed by Self-Determination Theory, the five specific task characteristics investigated were choice, challenge, feedback, collaboration, and real-life significance. Student engagement was measured as a multidimensional trait consisting of behavioral, emotional, and cognitive dimensions. Participants included two teachers and 37 students. Two classrooms were observed and video-recorded for 10 consecutive blocks during a unit investigating cells. For all tasks in both classrooms, the cumulative presence of task characteristics correlated with student engagement. However, students’ behavioral engagement negatively correlated with the use of choice.

Authors

• Sarah Glassman, Smithsonian Science Education Center

• Seth A. Parsons, George Mason University